Ballarat Prosperity Framework · – in conversations and ideas-generation to articulate a vision and identity for Ballarat. An estimated 650 ... This Ballarat Prosperity Framework

Ballarat Prosperity Framework

Statement of acknowledgement The City of Ballarat acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land we live and work on, the Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung People, and recognises their continuing connection to the land and waterways. We pay our respects to their Elders past, prese nt and emerging and extend this to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.

The Ballarat is Open project was initiated in late 2019 to explore Ballarat’s collective notion of identity and vision. It was about better understanding what we - the community, businesses and organisations of Ballarat - aspire to for our city, and how we wish to present it to others.

This work was undertaken on the premise that in order to be able to effectively promote Ballarat as a place to live, visit and do business, we first needed to understand what we value about Ballarat now, what we think needs to change, and how this could move us towards a future Ballarat that is prosperous, thriving and resilient.

Ballarat is Open engaged the people of Ballarat – community members, businesses and organisations – in conversations and ideas-generation to articulate a vision and identity for Ballarat. An estimated 650 residents shared their aspirations and ideas via a range of engagement methods, the cornerstone of which was the use of creative human-centred design thinking – with design sprints and hacks available across the city for anyone to participate in.

This Ballarat Prosperity Framework is the output of this process of co-design. It is intended to provide a conceptual structure of ideas and principles to guide our future decisions, behaviours and actions, and it will

now be used by the City of Ballarat to inform our future work. We hope it will also be used by others.

In sharing our dreams of what we wanted Ballarat to become, we were guided by the following questions:

What is our distinctive and authentic Ballarat story? What deserves to be told? If Ballarat had a personality, what enduring traits would it have?

What makes us proud to be citizens of Ballarat? What do we value? What do we not value? Why do we choose to be here?

What proposition does Ballarat offer others – be they future residents, tourists or investors? What compelling Ballarat advantages would we wish to share? How can our citizens play their own part, and collaborate, to demonstrate ‘our Ballarat’ - to build a more prosperous city for all?

There will be a number of elements to shaping the identify and vision for Ballarat, and this framework is the first step in sharing our story. This will now guide future City of Ballarat strategies and plans, including our city-wide marketing. Other tools will also be developed by Council to assist the Ballarat community and businesses to work towards the vision, including a brand storybook, a Traveller Experience Plan and marketing action plans, as illustrated below.

Foreword

Strategic Context (City of Ballarat)

Council Plan

Ballarat Prosperity Framework

Ballarat 2050 City Vision

Plans including:City Wide Marketing PlansBrand StorybookTraveller Experience Plan

Plans such as:Economic PlansCreative City Implementation Plans

Implementation Plansincluding:Compact City PlanLocal Area PlansUrban Renewal PlansBallarat Planning Scheme

Ballarat Strategy: Refreshand Action Plan 2020-2025

Ballarat is Open: Ballarat Prosperity Framework | February 2020 | 3

Our community told us our story…

That Ballarat is a city of possibilities.

A place that inspires innovation and courage – with a caring community.

A city of golden threads, weaving together our rich but complex past into

the fabric of a prosperous future.

4 | Ballarat is Open: Ballarat Prosperity Framework | February 2020

The future possibilities for our city formed the basis of a community conversation in late 2019, in which an estimated 650 residents shared their vision for Ballarat’s future story, including what needs to change for our city to be truly prosperous:

We spoke about Ballarat being a city that cares, treating residents and visitors alike with compassion.

We spoke about it being a place where innovation and creation meet, where we allow ourselves to be inspired or be inspirational.

We acknowledged that Ballarat is a place of rich and complex histories. Our stories run through the streets, creeks and between us like golden threads – some jubilant and some heartbreaking.

We agreed that what unites us is the power of our individuality, and that together we are confidently designing a prosperous future built on our people, our culture and our character.

The Setting for our Story

We started our story of our future by shining a light on the conversations we had previously held about what we aspire to for our city, in discussions over the previous five years. We asked ourselves whether we still held these aspirations and wanted them to remain part of our future story. And the answer was yes, we do. They are:

• Our heritage and stories – passing on lessons of the past

• Our enviable lifestyle – both vibrant and relaxed

• A welcoming, inclusive and active city – demonstrating our shared values

• An innovative and clever city - managing its growth sustainably

• A creative and increasingly sophisticated city - drawing attention

The Resolution we Seek in Our Story

We then scripted an ultimate goal for our protagonist, Ballarat, which is to end this particular story with these outcomes – our vision for Ballarat:

Ballarat is…

A place that is innovative, courageous and inspiring – with a caring community

A city with an embedded culture of innovative thinking and entrepreneurialism, where the use of data and technology provides better opportunities and lifestyles for all. Jobs growth across knowledge, service and new emerging industry sectors is evident, with business sectors of excellence being celebrated.

A city where the spark of creativity is nurtured everywhere to produce thought-provoking and fulfilling human experiences and exciting, world-class offerings for visitors, businesses and residents.

Confidently designing its future and managing its change, by celebrating its unique identity, drawing on all the things that set it apart – its people, culture and character. Its sustainable city growth is empathetic to heritage foundations, including an Aboriginal cultural heritage that goes back thousands of years and continues today.

A leader in the development of renewable energy systems, with a view to becoming a carbon neutral city. Collaboration across industries, systems and business models is evident in its strong circular economy.

A compassionate city powered by a community with a high level of emotional intelligence. Where community connection, health and wellbeing is one of the highest priorities, and this in turn enables strong civic participation, open-mindedness, and self-perpetuating success.

The Conflict in Our Story – what needs to change to enable us to achieve our vision?

We agreed our main source of conflict is our collective mindset and behaviours – in particular, conservatism, narrow-mindedness, risk aversion and resistance to change. Our community expects leadership that is visionary, bold, courageous, inclusive, progressive, and most of all – collaborative. And it expects our citizens to behave in the same way. In addition to this, we spoke of changing our reputation (we are so much more than a cold, goldrush city). We also wish to acknowledge our First Nations People’s past and ongoing contributions to this City, to address inequalities, demonstrate leadership in sustainability, encourage better urban design to connect our community, and be adaptive to our changing economy and society.

Synopsis of The Story of Ballarat


The Central Characters in our Story

In describing Ballarat as a person, we described our current character as one that is friendly and caring, yet traditional and stubborn – with a degree of creativity. In terms of the protagonist we need Ballarat to be, our preferred personality traits are innovative, courageous, inspiring and caring.

How do we Talk and Think about Ballarat’s Next Chapter? Our Plot framework.

Based on all we aspire to for the city, the plot to connect Ballarat to its ultimate goal has been conceived as the weaving together of 5 golden threads with 3 catalysts for growth. These form the ‘framework’ to guide how we move Ballarat towards its prosperous future vision.

Our golden threads will be:

• Our appetite for innovation, entrepreneurship and technology: This provides us with an ability to be agile, see opportunities in problems and use critical thinking to come up with new solutions to problems. By embracing new technology, different ways of thinking and new perspectives we will also foster a culture of entrepreneurship to attract and retain the brightest and best across our economic sectors and improve opportunities and lifestyles for all.

• Our innate creativity: Ballarat is already a city that has notable creative assets, attracts creatives to live and work here, and is experiencing a growth in creative industries. But creativity is not just present in the arts, it is present in all of us. By nurturing that spark of creativity across all sectors of the city we will drive new ideas, help businesses to grow, produce fulfilling experiences for visitors and residents, and provide greater community cohesion and wellbeing.

• Our heritage: Our heritage is a fundamental element of our unique identity as a city and is incredibly important to our citizens. It includes our Aboriginal cultural heritage, our histories, people, culture, stories and sense of place as well as our magnificent streetscapes, lakes and public spaces. By continuing to celebrate our heritage in designing the fabric of our future we will attract new residents and visitors and increase our city’s liveability. We will keep what we love and value, whilst also enhancing and enriching our city.

• Our future sustainability: We cannot continue to enjoy the lifestyle we value in Ballarat without addressing the impact it has on our environment and climate. Through collaborating across

industries, systems and business models to demonstrate leadership and innovation in this area, not only will we grow our circular economy and improve our sustainability, but we have the potential to substantially grow our overall economy as a result.

• Our resilient and supportive community: We already see ourselves as a city with a strong sense of community - where we are caring and look out for each other; where we participate in community and service groups; and where we support social enterprise and charity. By continuing to grow this community strength, though acts of compassion, civic involvement, recognition of our Indigenous cultural heritage, understanding of our diverse intercultural communities and creating more opportunities to connect – we will feel part of something bigger, be agents for positive change, heal past wrongs. We will have a more positive, energetic and resilient city.

Our catalysts for growth will be:

• Our mindset: This is about being open-minded as a city - open to new ideas, new perspectives, new opportunities. If we can demonstrate strong emotional intelligence as a whole city – understand our strengths but also our weaknesses, be open to new ideas, partnerships and collaborations, and to be able to learn from our mistakes - we will increase our courage, dynamism and energy and continue to attract others who want to work with us.

• Our behaviour: This is about demonstrating the behaviours we aspire to for our future Ballarat – being caring, courageous, inspiring and innovative. If we can demonstrate through our behaviour that we are a compassionate, inclusive and empowering community we will be more collaborative and supportive. If we can be courageous rather than seeking to protect the status quo, we will be able to have constructive conversations about what is important to us and take action to make Ballarat a more prosperous place for all.

• Our changing economy and societal expectations: Ballarat will be impacted by changing demographics, technology, and expectations of its residents, businesses and visitors just as every other city will in the future. If we can willingly accept this and seek to stay ahead of these changes rather than resist them, we will open up opportunities to increase Ballarat’s liveability, connectedness and appeal.


When our community members came together in creative design thinking workshops, they took on the considerations in the golden threads and catalysts, and produced hundreds of ideas of things Ballarat might do to respond to the following questions:

• How might we assist Ballarat to become an internationally recognised place to visit?

• How might we build an outstanding reputation as a place to do business?

• How might we embed a culture of collaboration throughout the city?

• How might we grow and share the pride we have for our city?

All of these ideas – these possibilities - are presented at the end of the Ballarat Prosperity Framework. Some checklist questions to guide everyone’s use of the framework of golden threads and catalysts are also provided.

The Golden ThreadsThe Catalysts Our appetite

for innovation, entrepreneurship and technology

Our innate creativity

Our heritage

Our future sustainability

Our resilient and supportive community

Our mindset

Our behaviour

Our changing economy and societal expectations


Contents1. Introduction: The Story of Ballarat – the City of Possibilities 8

2. The Opening Chapter: our setting 9

3. Looking Ahead to Future Chapters 12 – what is the resolution we seek?

4. What Needs to Change to Get Us There? The conflict in our story… 15

5. Our Central Characters 17

6. How do we Talk and Think about Ballarat’s Next Chapter? Our plot framework 18

7. How Might We All Play Our Part? 22

Appendix: Ideas from our Community using the Framework: How Might We? 30

Illustrations by Jessamy Gee


1. Introduction: The Story of Ballarat – the City of Possibilities

What is Ballarat’s story? How do you tell the story of a city like ours? Where does it begin? What are the key elements of our plot line? And who are the characters – the protagonists, the antagonists, the supporting personalities?

Of course, there is no single story – now or ever, and everybody who has ever been here will have their own perceptions, emotions and insights about this rich, multi-layered place. What has made it prosperous in the past, what defines it now and all the things it could be in the future, are a matter of conjecture – the construct of the story-teller. We are all the story-tellers, in this story where Ballarat is our central character.

The next chapter in Ballarat’s story is still unwritten. As we look at the blank page before us, we ask ourselves, ‘Who are we now? What do we want to reach for in the future? Do we need a plot twist to make it happen?’

Ballarat’s next chapter begins today, at the beginning of a new decade in 2020. Whilst we don’t yet know exactly what it will contain, there is no doubt it will have a central theme – possibilities.

The future possibilities for our city formed the basis of a community conversation in late 2019, in which an estimated 650 residents shared their vision for Ballarat’s future, including what needs to change for our city to be its best version of itself. The method for the engagement process was creative design thinking; this was not process of rigorous analysis, forecasting and strategising – that will come later– rather, it was

a creative expression of community co-design. We shared our dreams, values, beliefs and concerns with each other, and in doing so built up a vision for an extraordinary city, powered by exceptional people.

We spoke of the traditional owners and First Nations peoples, rebels, innovators, collaborators and dreamers who have come before us to this area seeking their own possibilities, and in doing so, we came up with hundreds of creative ideas for ways we too could play our part in writing the next chapter for Ballarat.

We asked ourselves the question ‘how might we?’ How might we assist Ballarat to become an internationally recognised place to visit? How might we build an outstanding reputation as a place to do business? How might we embed a culture of collaboration throughout the city? How might we grow and share the pride we have for our City?

We also spoke of what we have now, what we value, how we see Ballarat now, how we’d like to see Ballarat in the future – and what is holding us back.

Read on…


1. Introduction: The Story of Ballarat – the City of Possibilities 2. The Opening Chapter: our setting

We started our story for our future by shining a light on conversations we had previously about what we aspire to for Ballarat, by reviewing all the aspirations and acknowledgements that had already been recorded between 2014 and 2019.

Whether we have yet achieved these aspirations was not the subject of our consideration – rather, we asked ourselves whether we still held them and wanted them to remain part of our future story. And the answer was yes, we do.

They are:

Our heritage and stories – passing on lessons of the past1

We love our heritage – be it cultural, natural, historic or architectural. Our historic heart, streetscapes, views and sense of history are an important part of Ballarat.

Our heritage contributes market value – via cultural tourism, arts, recreation and liveability. Our heritage assets are also a ‘public good’, contributing to our city’s culture. Whilst we understand the need for change, we want to make social and economic change in a way that sustains our heritage.

1. This information has been summarised from consultation data for the following City of Ballarat plans / projects:

• Our People Culture and Place. A plan to sustain Ballarat’s Heritage 2017-2030 • Bakery Hill Urban Renewal Project: Response to Feedback (2019) • Making Ballarat Central: CBD Action Plan 2017-2021 • Ballarat East Local Area Plan (2019) • Consultation in 2018-2019 for Eureka Centre and Eureka Stockade Memorial Gardens Interpretation Plan (being prepared) • Background research to inform Visit Ballarat’s Made of Ballarat Campaign, 2017

We highly value our heritage as reflected in our magnificent public buildings and streetscapes, and we respect and value the considerable contribution of our Aboriginal heritage and the continuing Wadawurrung culture.

Ballarat’s stories are a valuable tool in passing on knowledge, inspiring change and attracting tourists, residents and industries to Ballarat. Culture and heritage offerings for our visitors is something we want to continue. We value our tales of gold, with the Eureka story being a significant part of our local and national identity and sense of place. We want it to be interpreted and accessible for residents and visitors alike.


Our enviable lifestyle – both vibrant and relaxed2

We love our great lifestyle in Ballarat. Our city is easy to move around, we have access to greenery with our beautiful parks and gardens and we have all the benefits of excellent health and education facilities, community involvement and city infrastructure.

We love our natural environment, our settlement and liveability, our tapestry of distinctive streetscapes and a diversity of housing to suit all needs. Our location means we are not far from a capital city, but our growing city is also catering well to our sporting, cultural and recreation needs - offering vibrancy as well as a friendly community. We celebrate our well-defined seasons.

We are particularly proud of our beautiful historic CBD and of Lake Wendouree, the ‘jewel in our crown’. Lake Wendouree is a drawcard for locals and tourists alike, with fine gardens, passive and active recreational opportunities, events and a strong historical context. 2. This information has been summarised from consultation data for the following City of Ballarat plans / projects:

• Today Tomorrow Together: The Ballarat Strategy – Our Vision for 2040 (2015) • Economic Program 2015-2019 • Lake Wendouree Master Plan (2017) • Making Ballarat Central: CBD Action Plan 2017-2021 • Consumer research to inform Visit Ballarat’s Made of Ballarat Campaign, 2017 • Ballarat East Local Area Plan (2019) 3. This information has been summarised from consultation data for the following City of Ballarat plans / projects:

• Community Consultation for Active Ballarat Strategy (being prepared) (2018) • Ballarat Intercultural City Strategic Plan 2018-2021 • Community Consultation for Growing Older Well in Ballarat Strategy (being prepared) (2018) • Municipal Early Years Plan 2015-2018 • Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2017-2021 • Consumer research for Visit Ballarat Brand Story, 2015 • Today Tomorrow Together: The Ballarat Strategy – Our Vision for 2040 (2015) • Making Ballarat Central: CBD Action Plan 2017-2021 • Consumer research to inform Visit Ballarat’s Made of Ballarat Campaign, 2017

A welcoming, inclusive and active city – demonstrating our shared values3

We love our friendly and welcoming city with a strong sense of community. We want it to advance the liveability and prosperous health of people of all abilities and ages. We want our citizens to have active, healthy and happy lifestyles and to be able to participate in Ballarat life – be it through sports, active citizenship, leadership or other pursuits. We also want a Ballarat that is welcoming, warm and embracing, with a ‘heart of gold’.

We are an inclusive intercultural community that celebrates a diversity that has continued to grow since the goldrush, when we were one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. Our shared values are freedom, democracy, social inclusion, the rule of law and equal opportunity.

We are a community that respects all its members and assists them to maintain independence and participate in civic society. We provide the support needed for healthy children and thriving families as well as for our ageing population; and we have a community that encourages healthy eating, active living, strong mental health and community safety and equality.


An innovative and clever city - managing its growth sustainably4

We are a city well-placed as the capital of Western Victoria, and this is supported by strong population growth as well as record levels of government infrastructure investment. Already a home to internationally-recognised organisations, Ballarat has an economy that is growing and diversifying. New businesses are constantly attracted to Ballarat, with precinct planning projects in place to support sustainable residential and business growth. Ballarat already does, and is in a strong position to continue to, capitalise on the economic benefits of inbound and outbound international engagement and foreign direct investment attraction.

Our community wants our city to grow in a way that is empathetic to our heritage, but that also leverages the benefits of entrepreneurship, technology and innovation. This, combined with the strong university presence in the city, provides strong potential for Ballarat to become a premier technology and knowledge-based regional economy.

We want to see increasing levels of start-up and service industries and we want to be seen by others as entrepreneurial and inventive. We are starting to use clever technology, combined with a collaborative and open approach to sharing knowledge and data – which will facilitate innovation and produce better outcomes for our community.

We want Ballarat to have an economy and community ‘powered by STEAM’, one which takes the critical and creative thinking skills of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, and embeds them into the wider life of Ballarat – brokering relationships between industries and sectors to benefit all.

4. This information has been summarised from consultation data for the following City of Ballarat plans / projects:

• Ballarat’s Creative City Strategy (2019) • Smart City Framework (2019) • International Business and Trade Engagement Framework (internal document) (2019) • Economic Program 2015-2019 • Consumer research to inform Visit Ballarat’s Made of Ballarat Campaign, 2017 5. This information has been summarised from consultation data for the following City of Ballarat plans / projects:

• Ballarat’s Creative City Strategy (2019) • Making Ballarat Central: CBD Action Plan 2017-2021 • Lake Wendouree Master Plan (2017) • Ballarat Events Strategy 2018-2028 (internal document) • Consumer research to inform Visit Ballarat’s Made of Ballarat Campaign, 2017

A creative and increasingly sophisticated city - drawing attention5

“Ballarat is an iconic city that inspires creativity, demands discovery and rewards the inquisitive.”

We want a city that has visible creativity, embedded in the wider life of Ballarat; that seeks out new audiences, participants and markets for its creative endeavours; that sustains creative practitioners and industries; that demonstrates innovation and experimental cultural offerings, as well as ground-breaking creative institutions and a world-class creative precinct.

We want to share our distinctive Ballarat story – people, culture, place – with the world. We want to be seen by others as artistic, elegant, creative, but also progressive and inventive. We want a CBD that is elegant and beautiful; exciting and multi-layered. We want it to reflect our heritage and living history, whilst showcasing our innovation, creativity and vibrancy. We appreciate our strong arts community, reflected in our galleries, theatres and university town.

Our world-class tourist attractions are there for visitors and residents to enjoy. Ballarat is also a compelling destination for events, which should all make a positive difference to Ballarat – generating economic, social and reputational benefits. Population growth is bringing sophistication and energy into the city, with artisans and new business operators shaping a fresh face for Ballarat – with a focus on arts and culture, sports, seasonal food, wine and craft beer. Spaces such as our CBD and Lake precincts offer wonderful cultural and event destinations.


3. Looking Ahead to Future Chapters – what is the resolution we seek?

We jump forward now to our closing chapters – how do we want this story to conclude? What possibilities would we like to realise?

Our conversation in 2019 confirmed that much of what is valued now – in particular those values and assets that underpin our current Ballarat lifestyle – are what we want to retain in the future.

We talked about a city with a relaxed pace and space to move freely, one where we can easily access our unique surrounding villages, townships and rural spaces; with excellent infrastructure, education and health services and natural assets; where our history and heritage is valued and forms part of our future; where we appreciate we have strong Aboriginal connections that go back thousands of years and

still continue today; and where we have a friendly, healthy, welcoming and connected community. We know that better public transport connections, more sustainable (and green) living and growth, and visionary urban design will be required to maintain all these things. We know Ballarat will grow, but we believe we can accommodate this whilst continuing to improve our residents’ quality of life – we do not have to compromise.

There was a clear message regarding our future Ballarat – keep it as ‘Ballarat’; do not let it become an overflow or commuter suburb for Melbourne.

Our community told us our story…That Ballarat is a city of possibilities.

A place that inspires innovation and courage – with a caring community. A city of golden threads, weaving together our rich but complex past into the fabric of a prosperous future.


Our Ballarat of the future will be sovereign and distinctive – sophisticated, confident and proud. We will write our own story, of a city where leaders are strong, visionary, united and not afraid to take risks; where they advocate for an outward-looking, creative, and thriving city. Where citizens are empowered and empower others; are diverse yet united; are energised, happy, inclusive, optimistic, healthy and bold. Most importantly, it will be a compassionate city – caring, connected, community members will be welcoming, will look out for each other and will not be afraid to address and learn from mistakes of the past.

“Crazy stuff happens here” – a city of possibilities (workshop participant)

Ballarat will be a city with a clear focus on sustainable growth – it will be carbon neutral; a renewable energy innovator, with design that demonstrates this and economic growth that has leveraged it. Its superb education and health facilities will be signifying world - class innovation; research and teaching and will be stand-outs within its diverse economy and will attract an international student and research base that will energise the city. Entrepreneurship, clever thinking and creativity will be a golden thread connecting the city, via its industries, education facilities and communities. A focus on innovation and forward–

thinking has always been and will continue to be part of its DNA, and it will continue to attract like-minded people and businesses from other places.

This story and history is not just a preservation tool, it can be so much more… (workshop participant)

Ballarat’s incredible history, culture including Aboriginal cultural heritage and creativity will be evident to all – it will underpin delightful and thought-provoking experiences for visitors, it will enrich the character of our city and the lives of our citizens, and it will tell our story to the world. A sense of irony and playfulness in how we present it will demonstrate our pride in what we have.

A caring community - staying with the humanity of it all (workshop participant)

We will continue to have beautiful built form and thoughtful and visionary urban design – but it will change with time to provide more green spaces, more public and civic spaces, more gathering places; less room for cars and more room for people to get out of cars and connect. Similarly, technology will change how we live. Autonomous vehicles, drone deliveries, robotics – they are all an important part of our future, but the most important thing of all – what makes us distinctly Ballarat - will always be our people.

We spoke about Ballarat being a city that cares, treating residents and visitors alike with compassion.

We spoke about it being a place where innovation and creation meet, where we allow ourselves to be inspired or be inspirational.

We acknowledged that Ballarat is a place of rich and complex histories. Our stories run through the streets, creeks and between us like golden threads – some jubilant and some heartbreaking.

We agreed that what unites us is the power of our individuality, and that together we are confidently designing a prosperous future built on our people, our culture and our character.

The Future Possibilities for Ballarat – our VisionOur ultimate goal for our protagonist, Ballarat, is to end this particular story like this:



4. What Needs to Change to Get Us There? The conflict in our story…

There was a very clear message from our community about what will hold us back from the future we want, and it was based around our collective mindset and behaviours – in particular, conservatism, narrow-mindedness, risk aversion and resistance to change. Related to this, the perpetuation of old-fashioned power structures, negativity and unnecessary competitiveness in the public domain were all called out by the community.

Our community expects leadership that is visionary, bold, courageous, inclusive, progressive, and most of all – collaborative. And it expects our citizens to behave in the same way.

“Time to stop competing; there is a narrow-mindedness against collaboration and working together”

That is not to say we expect opinion to be unanimous; on the contrary, we want greater diversity of opinion, culture and debate – but we want to carry out such

debate in a way that is respectful, brave and inspiring.

We do not want to see a focus on self-interest, short-termism, in-fighting or the small details – but rather on overall community benefit, ownership of issues and a united vision for our city.

We want to be able to trust and support each other; to celebrate our achievements and to learn from our mistakes. When we behave with authenticity and bravery we will trust each other, and this will enable us to be more agile, resilient, innovative, creative and see the possibilities for our city. It will facilitate greater engagement in the conversations happening across our civic entities and community.

Our collective emotional intelligence will be considered one of our greatest assets.


What else?

In addition to behaviours we wanted to see the following change:

Ballarat’s reputation: The assumption by others that Ballarat is ‘cold’, or ‘just another country town’ is something we wish to change. What’s wrong with being cold? How could this be used to our advantage? Aren’t our seasons something we value and others can value also? How do we portray Ballarat as a thriving and vibrant city with the benefits of a friendly and caring community? How do we flip those negative assumptions into positives? How do we demonstrate we are more than a ‘goldrush’ city; that we have strong Aboriginal cultural connections in Ballarat that go back throusands of years and still continue today? The other blight on Ballarat’s reputation is that of the suffering associated with institutional abuse. We must continue on a journey of support and healing in relation to this.

Addressing inequality and social imbalances: Poverty, intergenerational trauma, violence against women, mental health and drug abuse issues – these are all issues our community must take responsibility for tackling. This will be how we demonstrate we are a compassionate community.

Leadership in environmental sustainability: How can Ballarat demonstrate innovation and leadership in embracing a carbon neutral, circular economy? Can we be a leader in renewable energy? Our community will continue to expect leadership in this area and will want to be active participants.

Buildings and urban design that further connects the community: We are concerned the long-term planning for growth in our housing stock will result in crowded homes - lacking in character, sprawling into our suburbs, without the necessary social infrastructure, public transport, cycling and walking path connections to facilitate the community connectivity and cohesion we desire. We are concerned there will not be enough smaller, affordable rental housing stock to meet the needs of our community. Furthermore, we don’t want our love of our heritage buildings to mean we focus on retaining them as they are, rather than using them to meet the changing needs of our community. What can we do differently?

Adaptation to our changing economy and society: We are seeing changes in Ballarat that are following global trends. The restructuring of our manufacturing industries and the changing nature of retail in line with consumer expectations are seeing declines in these job numbers and changes in our CBD. But how do we stay ahead of the curve? Our workforce will need to continue to restructure, and this requires locals to be adept at training and reskilling – being able to shift from job to job, to easily accommodate change. How can we continue to embrace those skills required to future-proof our working lives – entrepreneurship and enterprise, agility and resilience? How do we support our young people to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills based on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics? Can Ballarat leverage its outstanding health, education and information technology sectors to become a city of excellence in continuous learning?


5. Our Central Characters

How We See Ballarat Now

Our community conversation sought to explore and describe the personality and identity of the main character in our story, Ballarat. Hundreds of community members indicated their view of the personality of Ballarat in the present, drawing on the concept of personality archetypes developed from the work of the psychologist Carl Jung. Based on this feedback, the top three descriptions were:

1. Friendly, caring and generous (the caregiver) 2. Innovative, artistic and inventive (the creator) 3. Naïve, humble, a bit traditional (the innocent)

How accurate is this description? When we took a slightly different approach, asking workshop participants to choose not from groups of three descriptors, but rather the individual adjectives a different picture emerged:

1. Traditional (people said they would have preferred conservative) 2. Stubborn 3. Caring

Traditional/conservative and caring are two traits underpinning how our current Ballarat was referred to throughout all facets of the engagement.

Whilst not negative character traits as such, we should ask ourselves whether this character is perhaps behaving as an antagonist in our story – will this version of Ballarat prevent us achieving our vision?

How we see Ballarat in the Future

What do we want our protagonist’s personality to be? The design sprint participants were asked to nominate character traits of the Ballarat they wanted for the future. The results were:

1. Innovative 2. Courageous 3. Inspiring 4. Caring


The story of gold was responsible for one of the greatest goldrushes the world has seen, with Ballarat the setting for a myriad of stories – some jubilant, some heartbreaking – with characters including the miners, women, children, Aboriginal people, Chinese and other non-European migrants.

The Battle of Eureka is a foundation legend of hope and struggle that forms a significant part of our local and national identity and sense of place. And it started with a desire of people from all over the world to seek their own future possibilities in coming to the area we call Ballarat. It resulted in many stories of heroes, innovators, inventors, rebels and visionaries that we could celebrate and emulate in writing our next chapter.

Whether Ballarat is on the cusp of a ‘new goldrush’ we cannot be sure, but what was clear as a result of our community conversations was that our future vision for Ballarat will be tied together by a number of ‘golden threads’. By allowing them to guide our future plot will we move closer to our desired future vision.

The Golden ThreadsOur appetite for innovation, entrepreneurship and technology

Our city will become more energetic, edgy and adaptable to inevitable global changes if we can retain and attract citizens who demonstrate the ability to be agile, to see opportunities in problems and to use critical thinking to come up with new solutions. As Australia and Ballarat continues to transform into a strong knowledge-based economy, our resilience will be heavily reliant on growing such industries locally and being ready to embrace new industries of the future. We need to focus on retaining our young people who come here to attend our universities and providing opportunities for those diverse population groups moving to Ballarat with new perspectives and ideas – by fostering a culture of entrepreneurship. We need to embrace digital transformation to provide economic growth and a better lifestyle for everyone – the internet of things, big data, artificial intelligence – they all open up amazing possibilities.


In a world where old systems and power structures are rapidly crumbling, we are moving towards an exciting future of advanced creativity. People are seeking experiences that provide a sense of emotional fulfilment, identity and curiosity, and we need to be able to deliver them. We know that a creative city is one that can wear the changes in economic forces, deliver new ideas, drive businesses to grow and provide greater community cohesion and wellbeing. Ballarat is already a city that has notable creative assets, attracts creatives to live and work here, and is experiencing a growth in creative industries. We need to stay on that path. The creative sector in Ballarat is crucial to our prosperity, helping create better people and better places to live and work. It is creative thinking that helps all sectors to blossom, and underpins a healthier, happier and wealthier city.

Our heritage

Our heritage - which includes our magnificent streetscapes, public spaces, lakes, stories, people, culture, including Aboriginal cultural heritage and sense of place - is incredibly important to our citizens. It is something that attracts new residents and visitors and contributes market value to our city – via cultural tourism, arts, recreation and liveability. Our heritage assets provide ‘public good’, contributing to our city’s culture. We wouldn’t be Ballarat without it, and it will always be a golden thread.


Protecting our planet is increasingly considered one of the most important issues of our age – and this was also a clear concern voiced in our community conversations. Sustainability in the Ballarat context could range from supporting our citizens in daily behaviour change, to ensuring locally sustainable food systems, to becoming a national leader in renewable energy and substantially growing our economy as a result. We know that to sustain our Ballarat lifestyle we love so much, we also need to sustain our natural environment. The notion of a sustainable and circular economy will inevitably be a golden thread in Ballarat’s future.

6. How do we Talk and Think about Ballarat’s Next Chapter? Our plot framework



Globally, people are looking for greater authenticity and connection locally. A decline in trust in institutions and a strong sense of civic humanism is fuelling a strong desire for individuals to feel part of something bigger, and to be agents of positive change. To be individually unique, but united by a sense of common purpose; to find belonging with like-minded people. These aspirations came through very strongly in our conversations, indicating a sense of community in Ballarat that values strong health and wellbeing, compassionate concern and care for others, and a sense of pride in having a connectedness that would not be found in a large city. Continuing to grow this community strength will make us a more positive, energetic and resilient city. We know what unites us is the power of our differences and individuality. As such, we wish to increase our understanding of and collaboration with our traditional owners and First Nations peoples, intercultural communities and other diverse groups within our City.

The golden threads will weave their way through a plot matrix which also includes three catalysts.

The CatalystsOur mindset

In terms of where we invest our future efforts and resources, and the identity we continue to develop for Ballarat - we have the benefit of latitude and possibilities. We have a number of strong industries, we have universities, we have population growth, we have the physical space for new urban growth, infill development and adaptive reuse - and whilst there will always be past legacies, we are relatively unencumbered. We can be lateral about who we partner and collaborate with in the next chapter for our city. It comes down to a point of view – understanding all the things we have to leverage and being entrepreneurial, enterprising and courageous about doing it.

Our community recognised that our collective positive emotional intelligence (EQ) will be one of the most crucial skills for us to exhibit in the future.

Our behaviour

Our future behaviour needs to be all be about greater problem-solving, celebrating our success and having constructive conversations about what matters to us. We will demonstrate through our actions that we are a compassionate, inclusive and empowering community and we will collaborate and support each other. Collectively, we will not be afraid of taking risks and we will seek to learn from our failures.


Cities are being restructured by changing demographics and technology, and Ballarat is no exception to this. We have less people affiliating with religion than ever before, we have higher numbers of residents of different nationalities, our younger generations are moving beyond traditional binary notions of identity and our older generations are healthier and more active than before and expecting to have active engagement in their community.

Our adoption of technology is changing our economy, with automation and advanced manufacturing restructuring our traditional industries and moving us into more knowledge-based occupations. Our future will see a greater shared economy, where traditional business networks will evolve into business ecosystems, and resources will be shared to increase efficiency for all.

Our standards of living are advanced, and we will increasingly expect choice, hyper-personalisation and incentivisation for certain behaviours. A one-size-fits-all approach will no longer be acceptable in our consumer economy.



Our plot matrix: The Golden Threads

The Catalysts Our appetite for innovation, entrepreneurship and technology


Our heritage



Our mindset

Our behaviour


Our plot narrative: How we see Ballarat Now How we see Ballarat in the Future

A municipality that is conservative and quite traditional, yet friendly.

A place that is innovative, courageous and inspiring – with a caring community.

A city with pockets of innovation and agile thinking, following trends in adoption of new technologies, with strong growth across its traditional industry sectors

A city with an embedded culture of innovative thinking and entrepreneurialism, where the use of data and technology provides better opportunities and lifestyles for all. Jobs growth across knowledge, service and new emerging industry sectors is evident and business sectors of excellence are celebrated.

A city finding its creative edge and receiving external recognition for it - producing unique cultural events, festivals and experiences based on a strong legacy of the arts.

A city where the spark of creativity is nurtured everywhere to produce thought-provoking and fulfilling human experiences and exciting, world-class offerings for visitors, businesses and residents.

The city’s historic heart, streetscapes, views and goldrush history provide a strong sense of pride for residents and are the backdrop for much of its visitor economy.

In confidently designing its future and managing its change, the city celebrates its unique identity, drawing on all the things that set it apart – its people, culture and character.Its sustainable city growth is empathetic to heritage foundations, including Aboriginal cultural heritage.

A city having engaged conversations about managing waste and protecting its natural assets, in the context of rapid global change and concern about the planet’s sustainability.

A leader in the development of renewable energy systems, with a view to becoming a carbon neutral city. Collaboration across industries, systems and business models is evident in its strong circular economy.

A strong sense of community – where people are friendly, look out for each other and care for the less advantaged - and are increasingly demonstrating this through starting social enterprises, fundraising and participation in active community groups.

A compassionate powered by a community with a high level of emotional intelligence. Where community connection, health and wellbeing is one of the highest priorities, and this in turn enables strong civic participation, open-mindedness, and self-perpetuating success.


7. How Might We All Play Our Part?

Using the Plot Matrix (Framework) Playing our part in putting the framework into action can be a simple as using the plot matrix as a checklist for what we do.

When considering an idea, initiative or plan, to guide our decision making we could ask ourselves whether it meets the intent of any or some of the five golden threads or three catalysts. If it does, then it is likely it will also be one of the many threads weaving ‘the fabric of our prosperous future’, contributing to the likelihood of our community achieving its aspirations and vision for Ballarat.

These check questions may assist:

Golden Thread: Our appetite for innovation, entrepreneurship and technology

• Does my idea, initiative plan etc seek to address a problem using a novel approach?

• Am I potentially finding an opportunity in what might have traditionally been viewed as a problem?

• Does my solution include the use of technology or data?

• Is what I am doing likely to contribute to a continuing culture of entrepreneurship and enterprise for Ballarat?

• Is it likely to result in new jobs in Ballarat, particularly in knowledge-based or service industries?

• Is it likely to involve new perspectives or different ways of thinking?

Golden Thread: Our innate creativity

• Does my idea, initiative, plan etc use creative ways of thinking or creative practice?

• Does it leverage Ballarat’s existing creative industries, artists or venues?

• Does it provide potential for new creative assets, experiences or jobs for Ballarat?

• Does it nuture the ‘spark of creativity’ present in such endeavours as science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) to develop a new approach to something?

• Does it create new audiences or participants in creative endeavours in Ballarat?

• Does it create a new thought-provoking or fulfilling offering for visitors and residents (such as an event, festival or venue)?

• Does it contribute to a perception of Ballarat as a creative place?

Golden Thread: Our heritage

• Does my idea, initiative, plan etc celebrate Ballarat’s heritage in some way?

• Does it tell or share any of Ballarat’s myriad of ‘stories’?

• Does it contribute to Ballarat’s sense of ‘place’ – for example, our history, people, culture, character?

• Does it design the fabric of Ballarat’s future in a way that also acknowledges its past?

• Is it in some way uniquely ‘Ballarat’?

• Does it share the heritage of Ballarat in some way with visitors and residents?

• Does it acknowledge or appropriately share the story of significant Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung Aboriginal cultural heritage sites, practices, stories or contact history?

Golden Thread: Our future sustainability

• Does my idea, initiative, plan etc contribute to the notion of a circular economy?

• Is it promoting or contributing to more sustainable living in Ballarat?

• Does it encourage our citizens to behave in a way that improves our sustainability?

• Does it raise the profile of Ballarat as a place that cares about our environment and climate and acts accordingly?

• Does it involve collaboration across industry, systems or business models to achieve greater waste reduction or sustainability?


Golden Thread: Our resilient and supportive community

• Does my idea, initiative, plan etc contribute to a more connected Ballarat community?

• Does it involve collaboration between community groups or members to achieve an outcome?

• Does it involve action to demonstrate compassion to others – eg giving or sharing food, shelter, support or learning?

• Does it require a degree of volunteerism by community members?

• Does it contribute to greater health and wellbeing for our community?

• Does it enable civic participation in Ballarat life?

• Does it seek to celebrate or empower other community members?

• Does it promote greater understanding of and support for our Traditional Owners and First Nations Peoples?

• Does it promote greater understanding of and support for our inter-cultural communities?

Catalyst: Our mindset

• Does my idea, initiative, plan etc seek to involve new ideas and perspectives?

• Does it take advantage of an identified opportunity or strength present in Ballarat?

• Does it involve the forming of new partnerships and collaborations within or outside the City?

• Does it seek to bring the expertise or knowledge of different groups, businesses, organisations into Ballarat?

• Does it seek to share the expertise or knowledge from our City with others inside and outside of Ballarat - with a view to growing and using that knowledge in a positive way?

• Does it seek to learn lessons from past mistakes made in order to do things differently in the future?

Catalyst: Our behaviour

• Does my idea, initiative, plan etc assist people in Ballarat to demonstrate care and compassion for others?

• Does it seek to take concerted action to make Ballarat a better place for all?

• Does it require the demonstration of courage in taking a course of action to achieve bigger-picture outcomes?

• Does it seek to inspire others to take courageous action?

• Does it broker relationships between community, industry and other sectors within the city to benefit all?

• Does it provide opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements or potential of others in our city?

• Does it support others in a way that will empower them to continue to achieve?

• Does it demonstrate how Ballarat can be an inclusive city, welcoming and involving diverse groups of people?

Catalyst: Our changing economy and societal expectations

• Does my idea, initiative, plan etc respond to changes that are happening or anticipated in our wider economy and society?

• Does it seek to respond to these changes in a positive and proactive way, providing benefits for our citizens, businesses and visitors?

• Does it demonstrate to those outside of Ballarat that we are a progressive and innovative city, willing to embrace and respond to the benefits of new technology, changing demographics and changing expectations?

• Does it seek to put Ballarat ‘ahead of the curve’ in doing things in a future-focussed way?


How might we become an internationally recognised place? Some creative ideas from the community...

Presenting Some of the PossibilitiesWhen our community members came together to consider their future vision for Ballarat, they took up the challenge to take on those behaviours we speak of for our future. They opened their minds, focussed on overall community benefit, let themselves be visionary, creative and innovative, and collaborated. The results were hundreds of ideas for ways we could all play our part in the next chapter of Ballarat’s story of possibilities.

In addition to the ideas below, the creative suggestions from our community workshops are presented in accordance with our plot matrix at Appendix 1. Whilst they are only ideas at present, they indicate what might be possible if we all work together to our shared vision. And wouldn’t it be wonderful if some of them played out?


Some other suggestions from the community creative design workshops:

Speak boldly about our creativity - encourage artists such as musicians to come to Ballarat on their itineraries; put out an EOI for ‘the next big thing’ arts festival idea or commission an international artist to co-create a public artwork with our community.

Provide hyper-personalised services to welcome our visitors, such as online chats or roaming Ballarat ambassadors.

Leverage our mining infrastructure for visitor experiences - eg underground shuttles, tours and walks using existing mine shafts.

Use our Ballarat icons to create unique visitor experiences - what about ‘Where’s Ballarat Bertie’, ‘Swan Cam’, or ‘Black Swan autonomous shuttles’?

Encourage the presence of classic cars throughout our historic CBD - allow them to be parked free of charge!

Demonstrate our sustainability goals to visitors - eg facilitating a ‘city within a city’ tiny house precinct or electric car charging points at our tourist attractions.

Share our unique Ballarat history in new ways - through light shows, augmented reality history walks, or holograms. Imagine a hologram of Peter Lalor telling you the Eureka story out front of the Mining Exchange…

Create compassionate art, spaces and places - to acknowledge our community’s past hurts and wrongs and to promote community healing…

Stage major events and festivals with a focus on health and wellbeing, including sporting carnivals.


How might we build an outstanding reputation as a place to do business? Some creative ideas from the community...


Boldly reuse our historic buildings for business as well as inner-city living.

Engage in positive psychology programs to develop resilience for businesses.

Organise business exchange programs (within Ballarat and with other cities) - to seek new ways of solving business problems.

Support entrepreneurs via angel investment funds, pitch competitions, start up support and mentoring programs.

Use our excellent technological infrastructure to support our sustainability goals (eg wifi, sensors, Internet of Things) - less waste, more efficiency whilst providing commercial value and informed decision-making.

Offer outstanding convention and conferencing facilities, catering for business events on a large scale with the best technology.

Host events to attract national and international business leaders - eg national CEO forum, international start up pitch competitions, hosting international speakers.

Offer leading business support for creative industries - spaces, grants, education and skills programs.


How might we embed a culture of collaboration throughout the city? Some creative ideas from the community...


Celebrate the success of previous Ballarat residents who have done great things - Invite them to be our Ballarat ‘ambassadors’

Develop the mechanisms to understand community problems (eg a ‘community challenges portal’) – and hold regular community ‘think tanks’ to consider creative solutions, ensuring representation from diverse groups in the community

‘Pay it forward’ - successful Ballarat entrepreneurs champion and mentor new start ups

Share our local produce with each other throughout the city - with honesty boxes for payment

Establish community gardens throughout our city (eg use our nature strips and roundabouts), with community garden ‘mentors’

Support our growing social enterprises - which are finding entrepreneurial ways to respond to community ‘problems’

Landlords support affordable use of empty storefronts for ‘pop up’ shops / studios / spaces for locals - which may develop into longer tenancies if successful

Electronic whiteboards throughout the city for citizens to have visible, accountable conversations about how Ballarat can be a more collaborative city; or to vote on ideas


How might we grow and share the pride we have for the City?Some creative ideas from the community...


Demonstrate world’s best practic in responding to institutional abuse victims.

Invite children to tell us about their favourite Ballarat things, via art - projected around the city.

Story-telling to share our pride in our city Write the ‘Book of Ballarat’ every decade to share the amazing things we did.

Actors positioned around the city tell the stories of the city for all to hear.

Incentivise Ballarat heritage restoration by homeowners - eg via competitions or reality television shows.

Further develop our strong sporting focus - eg attract the Commonwealth Games.

A ‘Ballarat App’ for promoting all the things for locals to experience (entertainment, hospitality, shopping etc) and for blogs to tell our stories as locals.

Zero-emissions public transport puts us on the map.


Appendix 1: Creative ideas from our Community using the Framework: How Might We? In honouring the inspired input to the Ballarat is Open creative design thinking workshops, here is a range of the community’s suggestions. There are some nuggets in here – might you consider adopting them?

How might we become an internationally recognised place to visit? Our Appetite for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology

Our Innate Creativity Our Heritage Our Future Sustainability Our Resilient and Supportive Community

Our Mindset Stage events with inspirational national and international speakers who share our visionary mindset.

Speak boldly of our creativity - encourage artists such as musicians to come to Ballarat on their itineraries; put out an EOI for 'the next big thing' arts festival idea; or commission an international artist to co-create a public artwork with our community.

Build a new twist into our love of free parking - make it available only for classic cars!

Consider developing a 'city within a city' tiny house precinct.

Celebrate and showcase our local heroes - they can be our ambassadors.

Hold a 'festival of dangerous ideas'. Ballarat Arts Initiative: community collaborates with a major international artist on a large scale and fun art installation for the City (eg Jeff Koons balloon animal).

Internationally Recognised arts and culture festival - issue an EOI for ideas for a creative festival aligned to Ballarat’s reputation as a creative city. One that will support local businesses, increase community pride and attract international attention.

Our behaviour Share our unique Ballarat history in new ways - through light shows, augmented reality history walks, or holograms. Imagine a hologram of Peter Lalor telling you the Eureka story out the front of the Mining Exchange…

‘Banksy does Ballarat' - encourage visible and subversive street art that challenges and provokes debate.

How can we tell the story of the Wadawurrung to both residents and visitors?

Stage a large-scale summit on sustainability and encourage all young people in Ballarat to attend.

Create compassionate art, spaces and places to acknowledge our community's past hurts and wrongs and to promote community healing.

‘Gameify' Ballarat - competitions to develop video games starring Ballarat (eg search for gold, Ballarat experiences).

Spotlights on every corner of Sturt St - for local pop-up performers / buskers.

Demonstrate we are a digital city by making all our billboards electronic.

Golden League of Miners - eSports game culminating in the Eureka Battle in Ballarat.

Our Changing economy and societal expectations

Use technology such as VR and AR in in our visitor stories, events and festivals - be the first city modelled in 3D for this purpose…

Create a new visitor experience - what about Australia's fastest rollercoaster at Kryal Castle - Game of Thrones style? Or a monorail over Lake Wendouree?

Provide new visitor and resident experiences by developing rooftop viewing platforms across the city to tell the story of our Ballarat.

Alternative transportation around the city - eg e-bikes, trackless trams.

Provide hyper-personalised services to welcome our visitors, such as online chats or roaming Ballarat ambassadors.

Create autonomous vehicle tours of Ballarat - what about following the old tram routes?

Proudly house the country's pre-eminent indigenous art collection.

Leverage our mining infrastructure for visitor experiences - eg underground shuttles, tours and walks using existing mine shafts.

Install electric car charging points along key tourist routes.

Stage major events and festivals with a focus on health and wellbeing, including sporting carnivals.

Festivals of light and sound on our lakes. Unique and quirky festivals - eg dogs in dress up, first sock-free city, unicycle festival.

Use our Ballarat icons to create unique visitor experiences - what about 'Where's Ballarat Bertie' or 'swan cam'?

Uncover our creeks and rivers for all to enjoy. Build health and wellbeing aspects into all festivals we stage.

Standard use of phone apps to support all events, festivals and visitor experiences.

Hold festivals and events that reset what Ballarat's reputation for being 'cold' means - bold, unexpected Winter events.

World Heritage Listing for the Central Goldfields - a collaboration with 13 Councils.

Encourage bus use by designing them to look like black swans!

Balla-Well: Wellfest - a major local festival /event to promote personal wellness - connecting local businesses to new clients and reducing stigma and barriers to seeking accesses to mental health and other wellbeing services.

Hologram City: 'Smoke and Mirrors': using Ballarat as a canvas for art viewed using AR and VR technology.

Focus on our unique laneways for new visitor and resident experiences.

Ballarat slow food and garden festivals.

City Ambassador - live online chat - an accessible, multilingual app for visitors looking for guidance on how to personalise their time and experience in Ballarat. Chats could be with a live person or a bot for simple standard requests.

A focus on rare and forgotten trades in our experiences for visitors and residents.

Tiny house festival.

Unlocking our Victorian Streetscapes - Under and Over - using our rooftop and basement levels of our CBD architecture for visitor experiences (eg festival of Victorian Architecture).

Free Vline ticket to Ballarat for international passport holders who stay at least 1 night.

Underground City - using gold mining tunnels, basements, storm water systems to connect Sovereign Hill and the CBD with a unique transport shuttle experience. Businesses could invest in a ‘stop’ under their building (eg restaurant) to encourage patronage.

Appendix: Creative ideas from our Community using the Framework: How Might We? In honouring the inspired input to the Ballarat is Open creative design thinking workshops, here is a range of the community’s suggestions. There are some nuggets in here – might you consider adopting them?

How might we build an outstanding reputation as a place to do business?

Our Appetite for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology


Our Mindset An ambassador program for business: where Ballarat business leaders tell their stories and we celebrate their success.

Risk taking and creativity is expected and respected.

First city to have a 'gold' permit - freedom to do anything - as long as it's legal.

Positive psychology programs to develop resilience for businesses.

We seek to attract businesses with future-focussed ways of thinking - to challenge and inspire us all.

Events to attract national and international business leaders - eg national CEO forum, international start-up pitch competitions.

Our behaviour Inter-city business exchange programs - to seek new ways of solving business problems.

We speak to others about Ballarat's 'new gold rush'.

Excellent technological infrastructure (eg Wifi, sensors, Internet of Things) that supports our sustainability goals - less waste, more efficiency.

A program of staff swaps between industries and businesses to broaden perspectives and skills.

Support for entrepreneurs via angel investment funds, pitch competitions, start up support and mentoring programs.

Bold reuse of our historic buildings for business as well as inner-city living.

Collaboration within and across businesses is considered a given behaviour in Ballarat.

We are early adopters of new technology in our businesses and in the way we provide services to our customers and other businesses (eg drone deliveries!)

We celebrate our great businesses through a range of recognition programs

Ballarat Innovation Lab: Community panels decide on which start-up ideas to fund, with an expectation of those start-ups mentoring others in the future. A community-managed initiative.

Social events for LGBTIQ members of the community who own/operate a business in Ballarat - demonstrating we are an inclusive city to do business in.


Provision of outstanding convention and conferencing facilities, catering for business events on a large scale with the best technology – ‘the best regional conference venue’.

Retail offerings that are fun, inclusive and unique.

Flying High - Ballarat Takes Off': further development of Ballarat's airport into a regional hub, to encourage business connections, increase tourism and provide a base for emergency response.

Bits and Bytes: by using Internet of Things technology we produce data sets on a range of sensor data - to be used by our businesses to provide commercial value and drive informed-decision making by our community.

We offer leading business support for creative industries - spaces, grants, education and skills programs.

Renewable energy / circular economy becomes a Ballarat economic strength.

Ballarat becomes an innovator in waste management, eg waste to energy or ciruclar economy for glass.

Bring Major Brands to Ballarat - responding to changing consumer expectations by encouraging major brands to install 'pop ups' in our CBD, to attract new customers and provide a retail experience for those who might otherwise travel to Melbourne for it.

Appendix: Creative ideas from our Community using the Framework: How Might We?In honouring the inspired input to the Ballarat is Open creative design thinking workshops, here is a range of the community’s suggestions. There are some nuggets in here – might you consider adopting them?

How might we grow and share the pride we have for the City?Our Appetite for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology


Our Mindset A Ballarat version of Ted Talks - with a regional city focus.

Invite children to tell us about their favourite Ballarat things, via art - projected around the city.

Celebrate success - bring back ex-locals to share their stories; or share their stories via marketing campaigns.

Make Ballarat the world's first paper-free city. Demonstrate world's best practice in responding to institutional abuse victims.

Thought Leadership: a regular event where an international tech thought leader (eg Apple) is brought to Ballarat to share knowledge and encourage innovative mindsets.

Encourage community gardens in our roundabouts - supported by an awards program.

'Ballarat Is…’ Campaign - a positive psychology campaign aimed at encouraging public debate and celebration to 'reset' community values, particular in respect to local politics. To encourage an innovative and healthy social environment for Ballarat.

Our behaviour Use of technology to share our positive stories of Ballarat with each other (eg 'share your stories' video booth stations).

Our city is full of public art and creativity. Blue plaques across the city - to celebrate and acknowledge where noteworthy people have lived.

Garden mentoring for edible plantings. A 'civic bottom line' is an expectation for our city.

A Ballarat App for promoting all the things for locals to experience (entertainment, hospitality, shopping etc) and for blogs to tell our stories as locals.

Ballarat 'flash mobs', bar choirs or similar community events surprise, delight and connect people.

Story-telling is a way we share our pride in our city. We write the Book of Ballarat every decade to share the amazing things we did.

Forest city - Ballarat becomes known for having green rooftops and walls wherever possible.

We have a system of social vouchers for community 'good deeds'.

We try to break a world record as a city. We have 'Ballarat Day' and our own theme song.

We embrace more compact inner-city living and reuse / repurposing of heritage buildings for sustainable living.

All new residents are offered a welcome program.

'Greenest City' – a program to incentivise our community's increasingly sustainable behaviours.

Hold inclusive events to celebrate the diversity within our community.

Community collaboration to develop marketing content for the city.


E-sports and competitive video gaming provides an alternative ‘competitive sport' and showcases our local games development talent.

Establish a world-class music centre in Ballarat, building on our rich performing arts legacy.

Lake Wendouree is used as a performance venue - eg opera, activated Fairyland, open air theatre.

Zero-emissions public transport in Ballarat is something we become known for.

CBD Community Centre: bringing together a range of social and community services into a shared space in our city - breaking down barriers and strengthening community bonds.

Actors positioned around the city tell the stories of the city for all to hear.

Golden threads throughout our city for wayfinding.

All roads must be recycled: Ballarat becomes a leader in producing road material from recycled waste, in partnership with those producing the waste.

Further develop our strong sporting focus - attract the Commonwealth Games.

Dress up our Ballarat statues in creative ways. Story plaques are installed within Ballarat heritage streets.

We offer tiny house reserves and precincts to those who want them.

Swantoon - the construction of a large poonton for Lake Wendouree in the shape of a swan. Accessible by the ferry and can be used for a range of events.

Hold an enormous tweed picnic in the Sturt Street gardens.

Ballarat sustainable living festival.

Encourage investment in a major cultural event / festival for Ballarat.

Ballarat heritage restoration by homeowners is incentivised - eg via competitions or reality television shows.

Circular economy becomes a Ballarat economic strength.

Appendix: Creative ideas from our Community using the Framework: How Might We?In honouring the inspired input to the Ballarat is Open creative design thinking workshops, here is a range of the community’s suggestions. There are some nuggets in here – might you consider adopting them?

How might we embed a culture of collaboration throughout the city?Our Appetite for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Technology


Our Mindset Celebrate the success of previous Ballarat residents who have done great things - invite them to be our ‘Ballarat ambassadors’

Community members provide future ideas to encourage greater civic collaboration - via facilitated processes such as community panels

Crowd sourcing platforms for social enterprises / start-ups supporting sustainability goals for Ballarat

Landlords support affordable use of empty shops for ‘pop up’ shops for locals - which may develop into longer tenancies if successful

Regular community design hacks to tackle community and business problems

‘The Green Rebellion: Green is the new Gold’ - a framework that generates design thinking in the community about how we can shift our thinking to provide thought leadership on issues of environmental sustainability - building on the history of Ballarat’s rebels, innovators, collaborators and visionaries.

Mechanisms to understand community problems for us to consider (eg a ‘community challenges portal’)

We have a mindset of adopting and trialling new technology across businesses and our community - we digitise what we can

Volunteering hours are set as an expectation in position descriptions

Our behaviour We invite other Ballarat community members into our business to learn from us and to share their own knowledge

Regular community 'think tanks' to consider creative solutions to community problems, and ensure representation from diverse groups in the community

Share our local produce with each other throughout the city - with honesty boxes for payment

Pay it forward': Successful Ballarat entrepreneurs champion and mentor new start-ups

We invite those from other cities into our business and strategic discussions to share their perspectives

We actively collaborate with neighbouring local government areas on issues of future sustainability and other strategic goals for our region

Buddy programs throughout the city - for residents or businesses

‘Ballarat TV’ - an online channel about Ballarat, where locals create content and stories to demonstrate their love of the Ballarat lifestyle

'Block Party': neighbourhood events arranged by locals to meet and support local neighbours and develop a greater sense of neighbourhood

Civic spaces for people to come together and exchange ideas


Support our growing social enterprises - which are finding entrepreneurial ways to respond to community problems

Establish community gardens throughout our city, with community garden 'mentors'

Electronic whiteboards throughout the city for citizens to have visible, accountable conversations about how Ballarat can be a more collaborative city; or to vote on ideas

We facilitate open data to enable anyone to come up with a great idea for an app or informed decision-making for the good of Ballarat

Nature strips become community gardens and spaces

We deliver opportunities for locals to experience the diverse cultures in our community, eg via networking and events

Documents

Ballarat Prosperity Framework · – in conversations and ideas-generation to articulate a vision and identity for Ballarat. An estimated 650 ... This Ballarat Prosperity Framework